Earth Science - High School

Earth science will be a breeze once you master these essential terms. This comprehensive vocabulary list covers core topics like weather and climate, natural disasters, ecology and conservation, plate tectonics, types of rock, the geologic time scale, oceanography, and more. Best of all, you can mine this list again and again — it's a renewable resource.
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words only definitions & notes
  1. abyssal
    relating to ocean depths from 2000 to 5000 meters
  2. abyssal zone
    the deep sea (2000 meters or more) where there is no light
  3. accumulation
    an increase by natural growth or addition
  4. acidification
    the process of shifting toward the lower end of the pH scale
  5. acid rain
    precipitation with toxic gas emissions combined with water
  6. active
    (of e.g. volcanos) erupting or liable to erupt
  7. adaptation
    the process of adjusting or conforming to new conditions
  8. aerosol
    a cloud of solid or liquid particles in a gas
  9. aftershock
    a tremor following the main tremor of an earthquake
  10. agriculture
    the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
  11. air mass
    a large body of air with uniform characteristics horizontally
  12. air pollution
    pollution of the atmosphere
  13. albedo
    the ratio of reflected to incident light
  14. Alfred Lothar Wegener
    German geophysicist who proposed the theory of continental drift (1880-1930)
  15. alternative energy
    energy derived from sources that do not use up natural resources or harm the environment
  16. altitude
    elevation above sea level or above the earth's surface
  17. altocumulus
    a cumulus cloud at an intermediate altitude of 2 or 3 miles
  18. altostratus
    a stratus cloud at an intermediate altitude of 2 or 3 miles
  19. anemometer
    a gauge for recording the speed and direction of wind
  20. Antarctic Ocean
    the southern waters surrounding Antarctica
  21. aphotic
    lacking light; especially not reached by sunlight
  22. aquaculture
    raising fish or shellfish or growing water plants for food
  23. aquifer
    underground layer of rock or sand that yields groundwater
  24. archaean
    of or relating to the earliest known rocks formed during the Precambrian Eon
  25. Archean
    relating to the eon from about 4.0 to 2.5 billion years ago
  26. Arctic Ocean
    ice covered waters surrounding the North Pole
  27. asthenosphere
    the zone of Earth's mantle that lies below the lithosphere
  28. Atlantic Ocean
    the 2nd largest ocean
  29. atmosphere
    the mass of air surrounding the Earth
  30. atmospheric pressure
    the pressure exerted by the atmosphere
  31. avalanche
    a slide of large masses of snow, ice and mud down a mountain
  32. axis
    the center around which something rotates
  33. barometer
    an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure
  34. bathymetry
    measuring the depths of the oceans
  35. bed
    (geology) a stratum of rock (especially sedimentary rock)
  36. benthos
    a region including the bottom of the sea and the littoral zones
  37. beryl
    the chief source of beryllium
  38. big bang theory
    (cosmology) the theory that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature
  39. biodegradable
    capable of being decomposed
  40. biodiversity
    the variety of plant and animal life in a habitat
  41. biomass
    the total amount of living matter in a given unit area
  42. biome
    major ecological community with distinct climate and flora
  43. biosphere
    the regions of the Earth where living organisms exist
  44. biotic
    of or relating to living organisms
  45. bituminous coal
    fossil fuel rich in tarry hydrocarbons
  46. blizzard
    a weather event with widespread snowfall and strong winds
  47. boulder
    a large smooth mass of rock detached from a place of origin
  48. breaker
    waves breaking on the shore
  49. Cambrian
    the geologic period from about 541 to 485 million years ago
  50. canyon
    a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
  51. carbon
    an abundant nonmetallic element in all organic compounds
  52. carbon cycle
    the organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again
  53. carbon dioxide
    a colorless, odorless greenhouse gas essential for photosynthesis
  54. Carboniferous
    from 345 million to 280 million years ago
  55. Celsius scale
    a temperature scale that defines the freezing point of water as 0 degrees and the boiling point of water as 100 degrees
  56. Cenozoic
    the current geologic era, starting about 66 million years ago
  57. chemosynthesis
    synthesis of carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water
  58. chlorofluorocarbon
    a fluorocarbon with chlorine
  59. cinder
    a fragment of incombustible matter left after a fire
  60. circulation
    free movement or passage
  61. cirrocumulus
    a cloud at a high altitude consisting of a series of regularly arranged small clouds resembling ripples
  62. cirrostratus
    a thin uniform layer of hazy cloud at high altitude
  63. cirrus
    a wispy white cloud at a high altitude
  64. clastic
    of or belonging to or being a rock composed of fragments of older rocks (e.g., conglomerates or sandstone)
  65. cleavage
    the act of splitting
  66. climate
    the weather in some location averaged over a period of time
  67. climate change
    a shift in the world's average weather and temperature
  68. cloud
    a visible mass of water or ice particles suspended at a considerable altitude
  69. coal
    fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter
  70. coarse-grained
    not having a fine texture
  71. coastal
    located on or near or bordering on a shore
  72. cold front
    the front of an advancing mass of colder air
  73. combustion
    a reaction of a substance with oxygen to give heat and light
  74. commensalism
    when one organism benefits from another without damaging it
  75. community
    group of interdependent organisms living in the same region
  76. compaction
    an increase in the density of something
  77. composition
    the way in which someone or something is put together
  78. compression
    the process of becoming smaller or pressed together
  79. condensation
    process of changing from a gas to a liquid or solid state
  80. conduction
    the transmission of heat or electricity or sound
  81. conglomerate
    a composite rock made up of particles of varying size
  82. conservation
    careful management of the environment and natural resources
  83. continent
    one of the large landmasses of the earth
  84. continental
    of or relating to or characteristic of a continent
  85. continental drift
    the gradual movement of very large land masses
  86. continental shelf
    the relatively shallow seabed surrounding a continent
  87. continental slope
    the steep descent of the seabed from the continental shelf to the abyssal zone
  88. convection
    transfer of heat caused by molecular motion in liquid or gas
  89. convergence
    the occurrence of two or more things coming together
  90. copper
    a ductile malleable reddish-brown corrosion-resistant diamagnetic metallic element; occurs in various minerals but is the only metal that occurs abundantly in large masses; used as an electrical and thermal conductor
  91. coral reef
    a reef consisting of coral consolidated into limestone
  92. core
    the central part of the Earth
  93. Coriolis effect
    (physics) an effect whereby a body moving in a rotating frame of reference experiences the Coriolis force acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation; on Earth the Coriolis effect deflects moving bodies to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere
  94. crater
    a bowl-shaped geological formation at the top of a volcano
  95. crest
    the top or extreme point of something
  96. Cretaceous
    relating to the period from about 145 to 66 million years ago
  97. crude oil
    a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons
  98. crust
    the outer layer of the Earth
  99. crustal movement
    movement resulting from or causing deformation of the earth's crust
  100. crystal
    a solid having a highly regular atomic structure
  101. crystalline
    consisting of or containing or of the nature of crystals
  102. crystallization
    the formation of crystals
  103. cumulonimbus
    a dark cloud of great vertical extent charged with electricity; associated with thunderstorms
  104. cumulus
    a globular cloud
  105. current
    a steady flow of a fluid or gas
  106. cycle
    a periodically repeated sequence of events
  107. cyclone
    an atmospheric system in which air circulates rapidly
  108. dam
    a barrier constructed to contain the flow of water
  109. debris
    the remains of something that has been destroyed
  110. decay
    the organic phenomenon of rotting
  111. decomposition
    the organic phenomenon of rotting
  112. deforestation
    the removal of trees
  113. deformation
    alteration in the shape or dimensions of an object as a result of the application of stress to it
  114. density
    the amount per unit size
  115. depletion
    the state of being used up
  116. deposit
    matter that has been implanted by some natural process
  117. deposition
    the natural process of laying something down
  118. depression
    a sunken or lowered geological formation
  119. desert
    arid land with little or no vegetation
  120. desertification
    a gradual transformation into arid, uninhabitable land
  121. destabilize
    make unsturdy, insecure, or less able to function smoothly
  122. Devonian
    relating to the period from about 419 to 359 million years ago
  123. dew point
    the temperature at which the water vapor in the air becomes saturated and condensation begins
  124. diffusion
    the act of dispersing something
  125. distribution
    the property of being scattered about over a range or area
  126. divergence
    moving away in different direction from a common point
  127. dormant
    not erupting but not extinct
  128. drainage basin
    the entire geographical area drained by a river and its tributaries; an area characterized by all runoff being conveyed to the same outlet
  129. drought
    a shortage of rainfall
  130. dust storm
    a windstorm that lifts up clouds of dust or sand
  131. earth
    the third planet from the sun
  132. earthquake
    vibration from underground movement along a fault plane
  133. ecology
    the environment as it relates to living organisms
  134. ecosystem
    organisms interacting with their physical environment
  135. element
    a substance that cannot be separated into simpler substances
  136. elevation
    distance of something above a reference point
  137. El Nino
    a warm ocean current in the Pacific that sets off a chain of weather events
  138. emission
    the act of causing to flow forth
  139. energy
    any source of usable power
  140. environment
    the area in which something exists or lives
  141. environmental
    of or relating to the external conditions or surroundings
  142. Eocene
    relating to the epoch from about 56 to 34 million years ago
  143. eon
    the longest unit of geological time
  144. epicenter
    a point on the Earth's surface directly above an earthquake
  145. epoch
    a unit of geological time that is divided into ages
  146. equator
    an imaginary line around the Earth forming a great circle
  147. era
    a major division of geological time
  148. erosion
    the process of wearing or grinding something down
  149. eruption
    the sudden occurrence of a violent discharge
  150. estuary
    the wide part of a river where it nears the sea
  151. eutrophication
    nutrient saturation of water leading to oxygen depletion
  152. evaporation
    the process of becoming a suspension of particles in the air
  153. exosphere
    the outermost atmospheric layer
  154. extinction
    the state of being no longer in existence
  155. extraction
    taking out something
  156. extrusive
    forced while molten through cracks in the earth's surface
  157. eye
    an area that is approximately central within some larger region
  158. Fahrenheit
    of or relating to a temperature scale proposed by the inventor of the mercury thermometer
  159. Fahrenheit scale
    a temperature scale that defines the freezing point of water as 32 degrees and the boiling point of water a 212 degrees
  160. fault
    a crack in the earth's crust resulting from displacement
  161. feedback
    the process in which output of a system is returned to input
  162. feldspar
    any of a group of hard crystalline minerals that consist of aluminum silicates of potassium or sodium or calcium or barium
  163. fertilizer
    any substance used to improve the quality of soil
  164. fine-grained
    consisting of fine particles
  165. fissure
    a long narrow depression in a surface
  166. flash flood
    a sudden and great flow of water in a short period of time
  167. flint
    a hard kind of stone
  168. flood
    the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto land
  169. flood plain
    a low plain adjacent to a river that is formed chiefly of river sediment and is subject to flooding
  170. fluorescence
    light emitted during absorption of radiation of some other (invisible) wavelength
  171. fluorite
    a soft mineral that is fluorescent in ultraviolet light
  172. folding
    a geological process that causes a bend in a stratum of rock
  173. foliated
    having thin leaflike layers or strata
  174. foliation
    (geology) the arrangement of leaflike layers in a rock
  175. forecast
    a prediction about how something will develop
  176. forest fire
    an uncontrolled fire in a wooded area
  177. formation
    (geology) a distinct unit of rocks or layers
  178. fossil
    the remains of a plant or animal from a past geological age
  179. fossil fuel
    energy-producing substance derived from preserved organisms
  180. fracture
    a crack in the earth's crust
  181. fresh water
    water that is not salty
  182. front
    phenomenon at the boundary between two different air masses
  183. gaseous
    existing as or having the qualities of a gas
  184. gemstone
    a crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry
  185. geochemistry
    the study of the earth's atomic elements and molecular changes
  186. geode
    a hollow rock with an interior cavity lined with crystals
  187. geologic
    of or relating to the study of Earth and its structure
  188. geologist
    a specialist in the history of the Earth recorded in rocks
  189. geology
    science of the history of the earth as recorded in rocks
  190. geopolitical
    relating to the influence of geography on politics and global affairs
  191. geosphere
    the solid part of the Earth
  192. geothermal energy
    energy derived from the heat in the interior of the earth
  193. geyser
    a spring that discharges hot water and steam
  194. glacier
    a slowly moving mass of ice
  195. global warming
    a rise in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere
  196. Gondwanaland
    a hypothetical continent that (according to plate tectonic theory) broke up later into India and Australia and Africa and South America and Antarctica
  197. grain
    the physical composition of something
  198. granite
    a type of igneous rock with a visibly crystalline texture
  199. grassland
    land where grass or grasslike vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life
  200. gravel
    rock fragments and pebbles
  201. gravity
    the force of attraction between all masses in the universe
  202. greenhouse effect
    warming due to solar radiation trapped by the atmosphere
  203. greenhouse gas
    a substance in the air that warms a planet by trapping heat
  204. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
  205. Hadean
    the first geologic eon, from about 4.6 to 4.0 billion years ago
  206. hailstone
    small pellet of ice that falls during a hailstorm
  207. hailstorm
    a storm during which hail falls
  208. half-life
    the time required for something to fall to half its initial value (in particular, the time for half the atoms in a radioactive substance to disintegrate)
  209. hardness
    the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure
  210. hazard
    a source of danger
  211. heat
    a form of energy transferred by a difference in temperature
  212. heat wave
    a period of unusually hot weather
  213. Holocene
    relating to the epoch from about 11,700 years ago to the present
  214. hot spot
    a point of relatively intense heat or radiation
  215. hot spring
    a natural spring of water at a temperature of 70 F or above
  216. humidity
    wetness in the atmosphere
  217. hurricane
    a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds
  218. hydrocarbon
    an organic compound containing only carbon and hydrogen
  219. hydroelectricity
    electricity produced by water power
  220. hydrology
    the branch of geology that studies water on the earth and in the atmosphere
  221. hydrosphere
    the watery layer of the earth's surface
  222. hygrometer
    measuring instrument for measuring the relative humidity of the atmosphere
  223. ice age
    a period when glaciers cover much of the Earth's surface
  224. iceberg
    a large frozen mass floating at sea
  225. ice cap
    a mass of ice and snow that permanently covers a large area of land (e.g., the polar regions or a mountain peak)
  226. ice floe
    a flat mass of ice floating at sea
  227. ice storm
    a storm with freezing rain that leaves everything glazed with ice
  228. igneous
    produced by the action of fire or intense heat
  229. impact
    a forceful consequence; a strong effect
  230. index fossil
    a fossil known to have lived in a particular geologic age that can be used to date the rock layer in which it is found
  231. Indian Ocean
    the 3rd largest ocean
  232. industrialization
    the development of commercial enterprise
  233. infiltration
    the slow passage of a liquid through a medium
  234. inorganic
    relating or belonging to the class of compounds not having a carbon basis
  235. intrusive
    forced while molten into cracks between layers of other rock
  236. irrigation
    the act of supplying dry land with water by artificial means
  237. isobar
    (meteorology)an isogram connecting points having equal barometric pressure at a given time
  238. isotherm
    (meteorology) an isogram connecting points having the same temperature at a given time
  239. jet stream
    a high-speed air current blowing constantly high above the earth
  240. Jurassic
    relating to the period from about 201 to 145 million years ago
  241. lahar
    an avalanche of volcanic water and mud down the slopes of a volcano
  242. landfill
    an area where waste is disposed of by burying it underground
  243. landslide
    the descent of a large mass of dirt and rock down a slope
  244. latitude
    an imaginary line around the Earth parallel to the equator
  245. Laurasia
    a hypothetical continent that (according to plate tectonic theory) broke up later into North America and Europe and Asia
  246. lava
    rock that in its molten form issues from volcanos
  247. levee
    an embankment built to prevent a river from overflowing
  248. lightning
    an electric discharge between clouds or from cloud to earth
  249. lightning rod
    a metallic conductor that is attached to a high point and leads to the ground; protects the building from destruction by lightning
  250. limestone
    a sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcium that was deposited by the remains of marine animals
  251. lithosphere
    the solid part of the Earth
  252. loam
    a rich soil consisting of sand, clay and organic materials
  253. loess
    a fine accumulation of clay and silt deposited by the wind
  254. longitude
    the angular distance from the prime meridian at Greenwich
  255. luster
    the property of something that shines with reflected light
  256. maelstrom
    a powerful circular current of water
  257. magma
    molten rock in the earth's crust
  258. magnetism
    attraction for iron
  259. magnitude
    the property of relative size or extent
  260. malachite
    a green mineral used for jewelry, ornaments, and copper ore
  261. mantle
    the layer of the earth between the crust and the core
  262. maritime
    bordering on or living near the sea
  263. matter
    that which has mass and occupies space
  264. mesosphere
    the atmospheric layer between the stratosphere and the thermosphere
  265. Mesozoic
    the geologic era from about 252 to 66 million years ago
  266. metal
    a chemical element or alloy that is usually a shiny solid
  267. metamorphic
    having undergone transformation by pressure, heat, etc.
  268. meteorite
    a stony or metallic object from space that hits the earth
  269. meteorologist
    a specialist who studies weather conditions
  270. meteorology
    the earth science dealing with phenomena of the atmosphere
  271. methane
    a colorless, odorless gas used as a fuel
  272. mica
    any of various minerals consisting of hydrous silicates of aluminum or potassium etc. that crystallize in forms that allow perfect cleavage into very thin leaves; used as dielectrics because of their resistance to electricity
  273. microbe
    a minute life form, especially one that causes disease
  274. microfossil
    a very tiny impression left by an organism from a past geological age
  275. Mid-Atlantic Ridge
    a very long narrow elevation on the ocean floor that runs all the way from Iceland in the North Atlantic to Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic
  276. mine
    get from the earth by excavation
  277. mineral
    a solid inorganic substance occurring in nature
  278. mineralogist
    a scientist trained in mineralogy
  279. Miocene
    relating to the epoch from about 23 to 5.3 million years ago
  280. mitigation
    the action of lessening in severity or intensity